How Madonna's Costume Designer Crafts Looks So Major Even the Nosebleed Section Feels Them

When it comes to memorable performances, few can compete with Madonna. That theatricality! That choreography! That wardrobe. From the "Like a Virgin" wedding dress to the Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra, anything Madonna wears on stage instantly becomes iconic. Her recently launched Rebel Heart tour does not disappoint with its collection of costumes conceived by the singer's longtime collaborator, Arianne Phillips.

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Phillips, a two-time Oscar-nominated costume designer, has created Madonna's looks for the past six tours. Rebel Heart boasts an impressive roster of designers: Miuccia Prada, Jeremy Scott, Alexander Wang, Fausto Puglisi, and Alessandro Michele for Gucci. The team created fantastical designs ranging from samurai and matador-inspired looks to a showstopping flapper-like dress dripping in Swarovski crystals.We spoke with Phillips about what really goes into designing for the one and only Madonna.

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You've worked with Madonna for almost two decades now. How has your collaboration evolved?

I'm very grateful every time I'm asked to come back. I think that the fact that she's such a multifaceted performer has really taught me and allowed me to also express my work in different ways, whether it's in a still photograph, live tour, on film, or in a video. The really exciting thing about working with Madonna is that she is very prolific and she is constantly challenging herself, which, in turn, is continually full of creative challenges for me, which I look for to keep my work interesting.

Describe your process—where do you start with creating a tour wardrobe?

It all stems from the music. Last fall, Madonna invited me to the studio to listen to the new album. The next part is she creates a song list for the tour, which really maps out and tells the story of the tour. Sometimes it's conceptual, sometimes it's narrative. Madonna is a great storyteller and usually there's a beginning, middle, and end, so it's always a journey.

When do costumes come into the picture?

Costumes are almost one of the last things that are confirmed in our process. The first thing is the music and the arrangements. She likes to keep things interesting for herself and often changes arrangements with her older songs, which of course informs the choreography. Then costumes really work in tandem to follow the choreography. It's a real back-and-forth with the rehearsal process, which is about three months. Even the quick costume changes are part of the choreography.

Madonna is known for over 25 years of her fashion; she has incredible taste. And there's always a lot of enthusiasm and excitement whenever we reach out to designers to collaborate with us, and that's purely based on who Madonna is. She inspires so many people.

What challenges do you come across through the design process?

I always try and disclaim, let [the designers] know the practical side can be brutal for a fashion designer because it's all about movement and dance and Madonna being able to sing and perform. Costumes have to have that functional aspect as well as visual aspect, so it's really a feat of engineering to create a costume for performance because they have to withstand all kinds of choreography and movement and quick changes. We're always met with a lot of enthusiasm and I quickly always try and inform them of the practical aspects. It's a real journey. We never really complete a costume exactly like a sketch on paper. It always goes through the process of changing and adjustments and tweaks based what the choreography is, so that can be very, very collaborative. Working on a tour is wholly about collaboration and nothing is really as it is on paper. It always evolves.

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Which costume from the tour are you most proud of?

It's hard to isolate a single costume because they all weave together to create a story. I am particularly proud of the opening not only because I designed it but also because it's so grand, and big, and theatrical.

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Any design detail that particularly excites you?

Swarovski is usually the first phone call I make when I find out I'm doing the tour because I really rely on them to create that theatricality. The great thing about a tour is that so many people see the concert every night, thousands of people. In order to reach all those people it's essential that the costumes [are] able to reach the person in the front row [and] the person in the very top seats at the back of the arena. Thankfully, working with Swarovski, we have that ability to reach them with the magical, light-reflecting material with the crystals and all the incredible crystal fabrications that they had made. It's a huge part of my design and how I try and curate the look of Madonna's tour.

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What's your favorite Madonna song?

Oh, that's an impossible question! At the moment, I go through phases between oldies and goodies and new songs. Right now I love the song "Rebel Heart"; I think it's a beautiful song off the new album, but, you know, I love "Unapologetic Bitch," too.

Any classic Madonna songs you've got on replay?

I like them all, but I particularly like "Burning Up" and "Holiday," which she does in the tour, and "Deeper and Deeper," which is a lot of fun. Her catalog is so amazing. Because I've been working with her so long, every time I hear a song it takes me back to a photo shoot or a crazy location we were on for a video. You know, songs kind of underscore moments in our lives and where we are at that time. It's great!